csasclassicsonicfandomcom-20200214-history
Sonic the Hedgehog (promotional comic)
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 16-page promotional comic released in 1991, meant to advertise the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. Originally released as a standalone comic, it was also included for free in various other publications, including issue one of Disney Adventures second volume, the October 1991 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the May/June 1992 issue of Sega Visions, and Superman (Vol. 2) issue 61. In most of these free variations, however, only the first seven pages of the comic were published, the second half becoming a rarely seen oddity. The story, which dealt with the origin of Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Ivo Robotnik, was considered the official backstory according to Sega of America and Sega of Europe until 1998, when the original Japanese history was restored to coincide with the release of Sonic Adventure. This comic was also used as the springboard to the U.K.-released Sonic the Comic, which coincidentally saw its final original issues attempt to adapt the Sonic Adventure storyline into a now-defunct canon. Story The story begins on the planet Mobius, with the villainous Dr. Ivo Robotnik hot on the trail of Sonic the Hedgehog. With Badniks in tow, Dr. Robotnik attempts to stop our hero, but is unable to catch up to Sonic. His Egg-O-Matic crashing into the ground, Robotnik curses the hedgehog, claiming he'll get him eventually. Sonic, his spirit intact, starts attacking the badnik army, in the process releasing the animals that are trapped inside. Laughing to himself as the rest of the badniks retreat, he accidentally stumbles into a spike trap, and is saved at the last minute by Johnny Lightfoot, one of the animals he just freed. Thankful to Sonic, the animals suggest they go see Dr. Ovi Kintobor, who they believe will be able to assist them in stopping the sudden appearance (and malicious intent) of Robotnik. However, Sonic informs the group that this is impossible, seeing as Kintobor and Robotnik are one and the same. Shocked, the animals ask how this is possible, leading into an extended flashback sequence. Sonic recounts his first meeting with Dr. Kintobor, how he accidentally burrowed into his laboratory just as the kindly doctor was putting the finishing touches on his latest invention, the Retro-Orbital-Chaos-Compressor. Sonic immediately asks what the machine is, and discovers that it is intended to absorb all the evil energy on the planet within the six Chaos Emeralds that power it. While Kintobor absent-mindedly goes into exposition mode, he stops himself once he realizes he is speaking to a prickly, brown hedgehog. The unlikely pair become fast friends, and Kintobor allows Sonic to train on his supersonic treadmill. The doctor is impressed at the speeds Sonic is able to achieve, but is unable to stop Sonic as he runs the treadmill into overdrive, causing it to explode. Though no one is hurt, the resulting explosion changes Sonic from a bland brown into a more stunning blue, which Kintobor calls the "cobalt effect." Now fully understanding the speeds Sonic can muster, Ovi creates a pair of frictionless shoes for Sonic to prevent his shoes from burning up again. Later on, Kintobor asks Sonic to get him a soda and a hardboiled egg to munch on as he continues to work on the R.O.C.C., looking for a way to stabilize the machine until he can find a seventh, Grey Chaos Emerald. Due to the doctor's clumsiness, he spills the soda on the control panel, causing the machine to malfunction. It rips apart, the containment rings used to keep the Emeralds in place scattering, and the evil energy that had been collected so far surges through the doctor. In an instant, he transforms into the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik, who also takes on the shape of the hardboiled egg he was holding. Finishing his story, the animals Sonic freed state it must be hopeless, but Sonic refutes them, and runs off to face the doctor again. The second half of the comic follows the paces of the game, trying to adapt as much as possible. Dr. Robotnik ambushes Sonic within the Green Hill Zone, forcing the blue blur to find a means of escape, spinning through a loop-de-loop to jump into a Warp Ring and enter the Warp of Confusion. The hiding place of the Chaos Emeralds, it doesn't take long for Sonic to find one, which warps him into the Labyrinth Zone. Holding onto the Emerald, Sonic is able to swim his way out, pulling himself to the shore where he meets a pair of his friends. He doesn't have long to recover before Robotnik appears, taunting Sonic with the intention of getting the emerald from him. The blue hedgehog makes chase, entering the Starlight Zone. Avoiding Orbinauts, Sonic bounces up to Robotnik's Secret Base. Even after going through all of Robotnik's traps, Sonic is unprepared to see Porker Lewis strapped to a conveyor belt, heading straight into a buzzsaw. Robotnik uses this moment to tackle Sonic, making the hedgehog lose his grip on the Chaos Emerald. Knowing he only has time to either save Porker or reclaim the emerald, Sonic chooses to save his friend, letting Robotnik get away. Freeing the rest of the animals in the base, Sonic declares that he will "Eggstinguish" Robotnik once and for all, the comic telling its readers to continue the adventure by purchasing a Sega Genesis and a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog. Appearances *Sonic the Hedgehog *Doctor Ivo Robotnik *Doctor Ovi Kintobor *Animal friends: **Chirps **Flicky **Joe Sushi **Johnny Lightfoot **Porker Lewis **Sally Acorn **Tux *Badniks: **Bat Brain **Buzz Bombers **Caterkiller **Crabmeat **Jaws **Motobug **Newtrons **Orbinauts Scans Full Issue Image:STHPromoSTHPromo01.jpg|Page 1 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo02.jpg|Page 2 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo03.jpg|Page 3 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo04.jpg|Page 4 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo05.jpg|Page 5 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo06.jpg|Page 6 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo07.jpg|Page 7 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo08.jpg|Page 8 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo09.jpg|Page 9 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo10.jpg|Page 10 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo11.jpg|Page 11 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo12.jpg|Page 12 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo13.jpg|Page 13 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo14.jpg|Page 14 Image:STHPromoSTHPromo15.jpg|Page 15 Sega Visions Insert Image:SEGA Visions issue 8 pag 21.jpg|Page 1 Image:SEGA Visions issue 8 pag 22.jpg|Page 2 Image:SEGA Visions issue 8 pag 23.jpg|Page 3 Early Draft The following scans are from an early draft of the promotional comic, unearthed by former Sega employee Dean Sitton. These sketches, which only cover the first half of the comic above, features a vastly different art style, far more cartoony than what would be in the final product. The script is also simplified, with events such as Kintobor's transformation happening without any buildup. The artistic style was changed between this draft and the final by the request of Sega, who demanded the visuals be closer to their own promotion for the game. Such visual cues as Sonic using his fists to fight were deemed unsuitable for Sonic, instead telling the artist to focus on Sonic's natural abilities as per the game. Even the personality of Sonic was tweaked slightly, Sega telling the writer not to make Sonic a typical comic book superhero, and even preventing the original lines which had Sonic realized why he had turned blue on his own, instead of needing help from Kintobor to understand. Image:soniccomic01.png|Page 1 Image:soniccomic02.png|Page 2 Image:soniccomic03.png|Page 3 Image:soniccomic04.png|Page 4 Image:soniccomic05.png|Page 5 Image:soniccomic06.png|Page 6 Image:soniccomic07.png|Page 7 Trivia *Kintobor refers to Sonic as an Erinaceus Europaeus, which a footnote claims is Latin for hedgehog. Specifically, this is the Latin taxonomical name for the European Hedgehog species. *Kintobor mentions to "Eggstein's theory of mass versus velocity". This is a reference to Albert Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity (commonly simplified to E=mc2). In this comic, Kintobor was loosely modelled on Einstein. *The "cobalt effect" mentioned by Kintobor is a reference to the metal cobalt. Compounds of cobalt are used to provide a deep blue colour to glass, ceramics, inks, paints and varnishes. *In this comic, Sonic is shown as being able to swim when he is dropped in the Labyrinth Zone. *The Star Light Zone is incorrectly spelled as the "Starlight Zone". *The comic seems to cover most of the events of the game, but claims that "the adventure continues" in the Sonic the Hedgehog game. See Also *Sonic Origin Story Documents - The original westernized proposal of Sonic the Hedgehog, for which the promotional comic is based. *''Sonic the Comic'' issue #8 - Sonic the Comic's retelling of the Kintobor/Robotnik origin. *''Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic'' - Sega of Japan's answer to the promotional comic, sticking extremely close to the original source material. Category:Comics